Monday, April 07, 2014

Frances Caballo Launches Blog Tour for Avoid Social Media Time Suck: A Blueprint for Writers Who Want to Create Online Buzz for Their Books and Still Have Time to Write

Posted by Renee Roberson at 2:30 AM

Social media is no longer an option for writers—it is a required element of every author’s platform. If you’ve been avoiding Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and other social networks because you think tweeting and posting will take large chunks of time out of your day and leave you with little time to write, think again. In her work as a social media strategist, author Frances Caballo has learned firsthand that using social media to market your books doesn’t need to be time-consuming. And with the four-step formula you’ll find in her new book, Avoid Social Media Time Suck: A Blueprint for Writers Who Want to Create Online Buzz For Their Books and Still Have Time to Write, it won’t be.

Whether you’re a seasoned or a newbie social media user, this book will introduce you to posting schedules, timesaving applications and content-rich websites that will help you economize the time you spend using social media to promote your books. You will learn:

How to create and perfect your author platform.

Where great content exists on the Internet and how you can use it to further your brand within your niche.

The importance of being social and applications that make this task easy and fun.

Tools that enable you to track and measure your success so you can better understand the return on investment of your valuable time.

Which tools prevent you from accessing the Internet when the time comes to sit and write that next book.

Exercises for introverted writers to help you feel comfortable on the social web.

If you’ve avoided social media because you feel you just don’t have enough time, you’ve used it sporadically and missed the opportunity to widen your audience of readers, or you’ve been frustrated by how long it takes you to conduct social networking tasks, Avoid Social Media Time Suck is the book for you.

Avoid Social Media Time Suck: A Blueprint for Writers Who Want to Create Online Buzz for Their Books and Still Have Time to Write is available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, IndieBound, as well as at your local bookstore.Book Giveaway Contest:
To win a copy of Avoid Social Media Time Suck, please enter using the Rafflecopter form at the bottom of this post. The giveaway contest closes this Tuesday, April 15 at 12:00 AM EST. We will announce the winner the same day in the Rafflecopter widget. Good luck!

WOW:Thank you for joining us today, Frances! I'd love to start off with how you first became interested in the world of social media.You have 23 years of communications experience and now work as a social media strategist. Could you tell us a little bit about your work background and how you first became interested in consulting clients in the fast-paced world of social media?

Frances: Previously I was a journalist and then a communications director for nonprofits. When I decided to start my own business, I initially was going to market my donor development, public relations and grant-writing skills to nonprofits. To market myself, I knew I needed to deepen my understanding of social media and in the process of that learning curve I literally fell in love with social media. It’s a dynamic field and I enjoy the challenges of keeping up with the latest innovations.

WOW:I think most of our readers will agree that it really is challenging trying to keep up with all the latest social media platforms and applications.For those who are new to the concept, what exactly does a social media strategist do? How can writers and editors who are hoping to expand their client list tap into consulting for social media as an additional income stream?

Frances: A social media manager is someone who can help you with your online marketing. When you first contact a social media manager, she will ask you these questions:

• Who is your intended audience?
• What are your goals?

For example, if you write for the YA market, you need to use Tumblr and Twitter. If your novel is about a woman CEO, you need to use LinkedIn, Pinterest and Twitter. If you write a memoir, the general topic of your book will determine which social media networks you need to use. In addition, you need to give some thought to your budget and how much you can afford to pay someone for marketing your books.

Once you discuss your audience, goals, and budget, a social media manager will send you a proposal and recommend the best social media networks for you. Then she will manage your accounts as though she were you. This work involves publishing messages on your platforms, adding images to Pinterest, creating and maintaining your Goodreads account, handling your advertising, and responding to comments from your followers and fans.

To manage social media accounts for other people, you need to read your clients’ books, understand who their audience is, work at staying on top of the changes on the different platforms, and be dedicated to learning about new applications that can help to promote your clients and their books.

WOW:What advice would you give authors who are wanting to expand their platforms and begin presenting at conferences and workshops? What are some good first steps to get them started?

Frances: The first suggestion I have is to write the best book you can, have it professionally edited and retain a graphic artist to create a cover. My second recommendation is to start blogging at least twice a week on your WordPress website. Create a free ebook that your website visitors will receive when they sign up for your newsletter. Do everything you can to build your blog subscriptions, your newsletter mailing list, and your social media platforms. Conferences want to see that you are an expert in your field and that you have a following and a marketing platform you can use to market their workshops. Finally, your books and your following need to substantiate your expertise.

WOW:Great first steps! I love how your book is full of practical and easy-to-obtain goals.One of the things you discuss in Avoid Social Media Time Suck is following the “80/20 rule.” Can you explain what that means regarding a writer’s use of social media activity?

Frances: Social media adheres to the 80/20 rule. What this means is that 80 percent of the time you will post information that you didn’t write and that isn’t about you, your books or your workshops. Twenty percent of the time you will talk about your books, awards, readings, workshops, and blog posts. These days, some people are adjusting that rule to 90/10. Whichever parameter you choose, make sure that posts about your publishing endeavors don’t exceed the 20 percent parameter.

WOW:For so many writers, the thought of managing multiple social media accounts can be very overwhelming to start with. In Avoid Social Media Time Suck, you offer suggestions on how you can accomplish all your social media tasks in 30 minutes a day. Can you give us a brief overview of your four-step system?

Frances: I’m glad you asked this question. This is the system that I use:

In the mornings, I curate information. I find my sources on my Twitter lists, from the blogs I subscribe to, and from Alltop.com.

After finding nuggets of great content, I schedule my posts using SocialOomph. Note: I only use the scheduling application for LinkedIn and Twitter. I use Facebook’s scheduling feature within the status update box to schedule those posts and I post manually on Google+.

In the afternoons I return to my news feeds to Like posts, share posts, leave comments, and to thank my Tweeps for their retweets.

Once a week I review my analytics to determine which messaging worked best. Then I try to repeat that type of messaging the following week.

WOW:You also work as the social media manager for the Women's National Book Association-The San Francisco Chapter and the San Francisco Writers Conference. What are some of your main responsibilities for those organizations?

Frances: For the WNBA-SF Chapter, I handle their Facebook and Twitter accounts and am their blog editor. I work with the board president to determine marketing priorities and decide which topics we would like to cover on our blog. For SFWC, I handle their Twitter and Facebook accounts as well. As with all of my social media clients, I curate information to publish on their social web profiles, handle their social media advertising, and try to devise messaging that will attract their audiences to their events.

WOW:How exciting to be able to work with such fabulous organizations in such a capacity! In addition to your consulting work, can you tell us little about the other books you’ve written? Do you have any other books in the works right now that you can share with us?

Frances:Social Media Just for Writers is a how-to book for people who are still learning social media. I included two chapters on Facebook and two chapters on Twitter; a chapter on LinkedIn, Google+ and Pinterest; a chapter on blogging; and a final chapter on offline promotion. The social media chapters include lists of applications and best practices. Advanced users have told me that they also enjoy this book.

Avoid Social Media Time Suck provides time management strategies, information about the demographics of each social media channel, the best times to post on each network, and lists of tools that can help writers to economize their time. I also included a chapter on tools to keep writers off the Internet while they are writing at their computers.

----------Blog Tour Dates

Monday, April 7 (Today!) @ The Muffin
Stop by for an interview with Frances Caballo and the chance to win Avoid Social Media Time Suck: A Blueprint for Writers Who Want to Create Online Buzz for Their Books and Still Have Time to Write.http://muffin.wow-womenonwriting.com/

Tuesday, April 8 @ Funds for Writers
Frances Caballo has a guest post on "The Best Ways for Writers to Use Pinterest" at novelist Hope Clark's blog.http://chopeclark.com/blog/

Thursday, April 10 @ Memoir Writer's Journey
Visit Kathy Pooler's blog and learn all about what a social media manager really does. Also, enter to win a copy of Avoid Social Media Time Suck: A Blueprint for Writers Who Want to Create Online Buzz for Their Books and Still Have Time to Write and read Kathy's review of the book!http://www.krpooler.com

Friday, April 11 @ All Things Audry
Curious about how to get started on your author platform? Drop by All Things Audry for a guest post with five quick tips on how to build one.http://allthingsaudry.blogspot.com

Monday, April 14 @ Women's Writing Circle
Susan Weidener of Women's Writing Circle shares her thoughts on Avoid Social Media Time Suck: A Blueprint for Writers Who Want to Create Online Buzz for Their Books and Still Have Time to Write.http://www.susanweidener.com

Tuesday, April 15 @ The Lit Ladies
Struggling to find the best content for your social media outlets? Frances Caballo discusses how to find the best content for your writing niche with a guest post on content curation.http://www.thelitladies.com

Tuesday, April 22 @ Cathy C. Hall
Confused about how to make Twitter work for you? Writer Cathy C. Hall hosts author Frances Caballo with a guest post on "Apps to Help You Find New Tweeps." Also, enter to win a copy of the book!http://c-c-hall.com

Thursday, April 24 @ Renee's Pages
Renee shares a few things she learned about increasing her productivity on social media after reading Avoid Social Media Time Suck.http://www.reneespages.blogspot.com

Monday, April 28 @ Slay the Writer
Stop by author Trisha Slay's blog for her review of Avoid Social Media Time Suck: A Blueprint for Writers Who Want to Create Online Buzz for Their Books and Still Have Time to Write.http://trishaslay.com

Tuesday, April 29 @ Writers on the Move
If the number of your Twitter followers has come to a standstill, this guest post on “How to Find New Tweeps” is just for you!http://www.writersonthemove.com

Thursday, May 1 @ Choices
Trying to figure out how to better market yourself and your books? You don't want to miss Frances Caballo's "10 Twitter Tips for Writers" on the Choices blog.http://madelinesharples.com

I have a blog which only deals with my writing. I'm really new to writing so I don't deal with advice, just my own experiences. Facebook and Twitter are currently strictly personal and limited to friends and other things I enjoy. I'm thinking perhaps I should establish accounts strictly as a writer on both but when would be the best time for that? Before publication or after? How does an unpublished writer start?

I could really use this book as social media (and email and link hopping) is a HUGE time-suck for me. I would love to win this book but if I don't you can bet I'll be buying it! Already added to my Amazon wishlist :)

I'm so glad that so many of you feel that you could use this book to help you be more efficient with your social media marketing. Margay: It's funny that you should say that this book was written for you; I think I wrote it for myself! I wish everyone luck in winning a free copy. BTW: I also have a giveaway at Goodreads so be sure to sign up for that one too.

What an exciting start to this tour! Thank you so much to everyone for taking the time to comment. Frances has some great guest posts lined up for her blog tour--so we hope to see you all again along the way.

Timing is everything they say... I have my first book coming out soon and even though I have the blog, the Facebook page, Tweet, I am a failed social media maven. I was at the book store and on line this past weekend looking for a primer targeted towards writers: How to master Social Media, have a day job, write by the light of the moon, and network. I've already ordered the book. Looking forward to the coaching.

Timing is everything they say... I have my first book coming out soon and even though I have the blog, the Facebook page, Tweet, I am a failed social media maven. I was at the book store and on line this past weekend looking for a primer targeted towards writers: How to master Social Media, have a day job, write by the light of the moon, and network. I've already ordered the book. Looking forward to the coaching.

Fascinating and informative interview and a book that has my name all over it! This is just what I've been looking for. In fact, I've been on Frances's site poking around the last couple of weeks and I'm finding some great gems of wisdom and advice. Thanks for the chance to win a copy of the book!